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Blog użytkownika:Tydeus 2000/Wz.31
Poland (1931) Heavy armored car - None built The fine armored car In the beginning of 1930s Polish army had still not any type of the truly succesfull reconessance vehicle. The main armored car (or half-track actually) wz.28 had a lot of imperfections (like a low armor and armament), and also the new wz.29 "Ursus" was not satisfying - this car was well armed and armored, however, it had too low maximal speed and had problems in roadless tracks (moreover, it was produced only in a small series). The designers still tried to create some fine armored car. They got a facilitate in 1930, when Polish company PZInż (also responsible for later projects like PZInż 220 - the prototype of famous 7TP, or PZinż 202, the half-track) reached an agreement with Swiss company Adolphe Saurer S.A. for produce and selling Swiss cars. The 6x4 chassis of truck was a good base for the armored car. The designers of BK Br.Panc.WIBI took the project. As the final design was ready in 1931, the new project got name "Wz.31" - "wzór 1931", "the specimen 1931". (This name also encompass the type of helmet, so it can be easy mistaken.) Design and armament Unfortunately, the design of wz.31 is forgotten today, as this project falled fast - moreover all plans were destroyed during World War II. The only one existing image is impression created by Polish writer Janusz Magnuski. However, in this picture wz.31 has not front machine gun and the turret has no cannon. In Magnuski's conception wz.31 was looking similar to German 6-wheeled Sd.Kfz.231 or Soviet BA-10. This attribute is possible, as those shapes were popular in armored cars. The general design was basing on wz.29, as it was well armored and armed. The chassis of wz.31 was basing on truck created by Swiss company Adolphe Saurer S.A. - unfortunately, the type of truck is unknow. In 6 wheels of vehicle, 4 of them were propelled by engine - the front pair of wheels was not. The car could have 4 front gears and one back. The engineers proposed two types of the engines - four stroke, 6-cylinder straight engine with 100 horsepower or four stroke, 6-cylinder diesel engine with 84 hp. Both of them were produced by Saurer and liquid engine cooling system. Wz.31 could have also two places for driver - in front and back of vehicle. The connection was provided by tank inner phone. The main armament was placed in turret, which was the same as in wz.29 "Ursus". The turret holded 2 machine guns (one of them was directed upside, to the anti-aircraft fire) and one 37 mm cannon. All weapons were deployed unsymmetrical, with 120 rank per next gun, as this solution made turret less cramped. Moreover, wz.31 could have one machine gun in back (as wz.29) and one in front (with place for rifleman alongside driver). The machine guns were wz.25 (Polish version of French Mle 1914 Hotchkiss), and the cannon was also French SA-18 Puteaux 37mm cannon. The rejection and reasons of it The project of new heavy armored car was rejected fast despite all envisaged bonuses. The army had not even doubts to built prototype - and wz.31 remained only as paper plan. The main reason of this end was simple - the prohibitive price of design. One wz.31 costed 160 tousands of Polish złotys, with 99 000 for armament and 61 000 for chassis and hull. For comparision, one later TKS tankette costed 47 800 złotys. Moreover, the armament of wz.31 was evaluated as bad way - "numerous, but low" and Polish army was prefering quality, not numerical amount. The fine armored car needed more powerful ant-tank guns, not numerous anti-infantry weapons. New car was also rated as too big and heavy. There can be also the another reason of wz.31 fall - it is possible that the heavy armored car was displaced as scout vehicle by tankettes. In 1931 the production of TK-3 tankette started. The army was probably prefering tankettes than armored cars this time. However, to the very end army of Second Polish Republic was not disposing any type of really satisfying armored car - even wz.34 produced in 1934 had a lot of imperfections. Planned specifications of wz.31: *Dimensions: 700 x 208 x 260 cm *Total weight: 7,8 tons *Crew: 5 *Propulsion: Straight (100hp) or diesel (84hp) engine, 6-cyl, Saurer *Maximal speed: 55-60 km/h *Armor: 5-12 mm *Armament: 37mm Puteaux SA-18 + 4 x 7,92mm wz.25 *Total production: Paper concept Sources *http://www.weu1918-1939.pl/samochod-pancerny-wz-31/ *https://dobroni.pl/n/samochod-pancerny-wz/12676 *http://derela.republika.pl/ceny.htm Kategoria:Wpisy na blogach